The perfect and instantaneous steering of the bicycle, combined with
its narrowness, counteract, to a great extent, the advantage which the
tricyclist has of being able to stop so much more quickly, for
the bicyclist can "dodge" past a thing for which the rider of the
three-wheeler must pull up. In one other respect the bicyclist has an
advantage which, though of no real importance, has great weight with
many people. The bicycle well ridden presents a picture of such perfect
elegance that no one on anything else need expect to appear to advantage
in comparison.

The chief disadvantage of the bicycle is the fact that a rider cannot
stop for any purpose, or go back a little, without dismounting. For town
riding, where a stoppage is frequently necessitated by the traffic, this
perpetual mounting and dismounting is not only tiresome, but wearying,
so much so that few bicyclists care to ride daily in town.

The position of the rider on a bicycle, with respect to the treadles,
is by no means good, for if he is placed sufficiently far forward to be
able to employ his weight to advantage without bending himself double,
he will be in so critical a position that a mere touch will send him
over the handles. He has, therefore, to balance stability and safety
against comfort and power; the more forward he is, the more furiously he
can drive his machine, and the less does he suffer from friction and the
shaking of the little wheel; the more backward he is, the less is he
likely to come to grief riding down hill, or over unseen stones. The
bicyclist is no better off than the rider of any other machine with a
little wheel, the vibration from which may weary him nearly as much as
the work he does. The little wheel as a mud-throwing machine engine is
still more effective on the bicycle than it is on any tricycle, for in
general it is run at a higher speed.